Vacuum cleaner structure



Feb. 13, 1962 R. DESCARRIES 3,021,028

VACUUM CLEANER STRUCTURE Filed April 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l l ENTOR MM haw ATTORNEY Feb. 13, 1962 R. DESCARRIES VACUUM CLEANER STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1958 .52 22 /k1. Z9 53 a I la- 5 z 0 W w 6 m g 4 6 a 5 6 F 4w .0 V 2 6 ha f 9 z 6 2, n a a a Z 4 3 C yam z b n 5 a 4 L i a 9 l4 fiVENTOR a $1 BY w%fim ATTORNEY United States Patent a corporation of Sweden Filed Apr. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 725,727 13 Claims. (Cl. 220-35) My invention relates to suction cleaners.

Tank-type suction cleaners supported in a horizontal position often are provided with a hinged cover that cooperates with an open end of the cleaner casing having an end ring. In recent years suction cleaners of this kind usually have been supported horizontally by rollers or wheels including a single caster wheel at the front end of the cleaner.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved suction cleaner of simplified construction in which an end ring and cover can readily be assembled with other parts of the cleaner and provide a hinge connection for the cover on the end ring.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved suction cleaner having at the region of a front caster wheel a stabilizer which effectively minimizes the tendency of the cleaner to tip and is constructed in such a manner that a hinge connection for a cover on an end ring at the open end of the casing is completed by a fastener fixed to the stabilizer and to the end ring which rigidly secures the latter in position.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a suction cleaner embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the cleaner illustrated in FIG. 1;

151G. 3 is an end elevational view of the cleaner shown iflt l FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of parts shown in FIG. 2 to illustrate details more clearly;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of parts shown in FIG. 1, partly broken away and in section, to illustrate details; and

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary vertical sectional views taken at lines 66, 77 and 8-8 of FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown my invention embodied in a horizontal tank-type suction cleaner 10 comprising a casing 11, a front end cover 12 and rear end cover 14. The casing 11 is provided with a handle 15 and Wheels 16 and 17 to facilitate movement thereof on a supporting surface, the wheels 17 being at opposing sides of the casing and the single caster wheel 16 at the front end of the casing being disposed between the side walls of the cleaner.

The front end cover 12 is formed with an inlet 18 to which a suction hose (not shown) is adapted to be removably connected. Suitable cleaning tools may be connected to a wand which in turn is connected to the outer free end of the suction hose and through which air flows into the front end of the casing by a suitable motorfan unit 19 disposed therein. The motor-fan unit 19 is connected in an electrical circuit having a switch (not shown) provided with a manually operable control member 20 at the top of the casing 11. Dirt entrained in air drawn into the inlet 18 is separated from air when it passes through a dust collecting member 21, and air from which dirt has been removed is discharged from the easing through an opening (not shown) in the rear end cover.

End rings 22 and 23 are provided at the front and rear ends, respectively, of the casing 11. The rear end ring 23, which is fixed to casing 11 in any suitable manner, is provided with a pair of downwardly extending brackets 24 upon which are mounted pins 25 about which the rear wheels 17 are rotatable. The rear end cover 14 is provided with a pair of spaced apart arms or brackets 26 at the bottom thereof which project downwardly and also toward the casing 11 and are pivotally connected to the pins 25. The rear end cover 14, which is movable about the pins 25, is provided with a latch 27 for releasably latching the end cover at the rear end of the casing 11.

The top of the casing 11 includes two portions at different elevations which are joined by a sloping wall portion. A trim strip 28, which conforms to the top of the casing and includes two sections at different elevations, extends lengthwise of the casing top and is fixed thereto in any suitable manner. The trim strip 28, which is of inverted U-shape, is provided with elongated slots in which the ends of the handle 15 are anchored and through which the switch control member 20 extends. The forward end of the trim strip 28 is anchored at 28a to the raised part 22a of the front end ring 22, as shown in FIG. 5. The raised part 22a of the front end ring 22 is secured at 29 to an angle bracket 30- fixed to the top of the casing 11. The bottom part of the front end ring 22 is also fixed at 31 to the casing 11 in a manner which will be described presently.

The front end ring is provided with a U-shape groove 32 about the periphery thereof which receives the front or forward edge of the casing 11, as illustrated in FIG. 5. A suitable sealing gasket 33 is provided in the groove 32 about the extreme edge of casing 11 to provide an airtight joint. A section 11a of casing 11, at the extreme forward edge thereof, is of slightly larger cross-section than the casing section immediately adjacent thereto, to provide a shoulder 11b against which bears an outwardly extending flange 34a at the open end of an apertured basket 34 in which the dust collecting member 21 is disposed. The inner wall of the U-shape groove 32 is defined by part 22b of the front end ring having an inwardly extending portion which engages the flange 34a of the basket 34 to firmly hold the latter in position within the casing 11.

The inwardly extending part 22b of the front end ring 22 is also provided with a flange 220 which extends radially inward and at its inner edge is formed with a groove 35 which receives a sealing gasket 36. The dust collecting member 21, which may be formed of paper permeable to air, is provided with a stiff cover 21a like cardboard, for example, which engages the gasket 35 and forms an air-tight seal between these parts( The front end cover 12, which is pivoted at 37 to the front end ring 22 in a manner to be described presently, is provided with a hollow sleeve or tubular part 38 which extends rearwardly from the inlet 18. The tube 38 projects through an opening in a closure plate 39 provided at the open end of the end cover 12 and fixed thereto in any suitable manner (not shown). An annular gasket 40 is positioned in the gap at the opening in the closure plate 39 to seal the joint between the closure plate and tube 38. The gasket 40 is provided with an outwardly flaring portion 40a which is disposed outside the closure plate and at its outer edge engages the dust bag cover 21a to hold the latter yieldingly against the gasket 36 to provide an air-tight seal therebetween.

The dust bag cover 21a is provided with a central opening which may be closed by a thin resilient membrane having split or overlapping parts 41 which yield and spread apart when the tube 38 projects through the opening in the dust bag cover 21a, as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the tube 38 is retracted from the dust bag 21 upon opening the front end cover 12, the membrane parts 41 return to a flat position extending across the opening in the stiff cover 21a and seal the dirt in the dust bag 21.

A latch may be provided in the front end cover 14 for latching the end cover to the casing 11, as shown in FIG. 5. The latch comprises a latch member 42 pivotally mounted on a pin 43 fixed within the front end cover 12, and a latch keeper 44 in the form of a pin extending between spaced lugs 45 projecting forward from the front end ring 22.

The latch member 42 may be formed of sheet metal and provided with a latching detent or catch 46. A hairpin spring 47 surrounds the pivot pin 43 at the side of the latch member 42 with one leg 48 engaging the latch member and the leg 49 engaging a stop 50 in the cover 12. Thus, spring 47 yieldingly rocks the latch member 42 toward latching position.

A lug 51 extends upwardly from the latch member 42 between the pivot pin 43 and catch 46 and projects into an opening 52 in the front end cover 12. A push button 53 is mounted on the lug 51 for manually pressing the latch member against the action of spring 47 to an unlatching position. Latching member 42 also has a depending arm 42a which may be connected to other parts (not shown) in the end cover 12 in such a manner that, when the push button 53 is released and the spring 47 becomes effective to rock the latch member 42 counterclockwise, such upward rocking movement will be arrested to position the cam surface 54 on the nose of the latch member at a region at which the cam surface will engage the pin 44 when the end cover 12 is again moved to its closed position. With such arrangement, the pin 44 will automatically rock the latch member 42 clockwise until it moves to its locked position illustrated in FIG. 5.

The front wheel 16 forms part of a caster which is mounted at the bottom of casing 11 by structure including a member 55 which is fixed at 56 to the casing and provided with a central opening 57, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The caster includes a pair of cooperating parts 58 and 59 having antifriction rollers 60 therebetween, the top part 58 fitting in position at the underside of the member 55 and the bottom part 59 forming the closed end of a depending bracket 61 of inverted U-shape having spaced arms at the lower end of which the wheel 16 is mounted at 62. The wheel 16 is rotatable about a horizontal axis at 62 which is eccentrically disposed with respect to a vertical axis at the region the bracket 61 is rotatably mounted at 63 on the member 55 at the opening 57 therein.

It has been stated above that the bottom part of the front end ring 22 is secured at 31 to the casing 11. In the preferred embodiment of the invention being described, this is accomplished by providing a horizontally extending part 64 across the bottom of the front end ring 22 which depends downwardly from the U-shape groove 32, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The front of the part 64 is of convex shape and the rear thereof is of concave shape to provide a trough or groove 65 having end walls 66 provided with openings 67, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. Openings 68 are provided adjacent the ends of part 64 for receiving screws 69 having tightening nuts 70 disposed in square-shaped recesses 71 formed in lugs or bosses 72 provided at the bottom of the member 55 and depending downwardly therefrom. The screws 69 fit snugly in U-shape notches 73 provided in the bosses 72 at opposing sides of the square-shaped recesses 71. By inverting the suction cleaner 10 from the position illustrated in FIGS. and 6, the front end ring 22 can be easily secured at 31 to the casing 11 by simply placing multi-sided tightening nuts in the square-shaped recesses 71 and inserting the screws 69 through the openings 68 so that they engage the nuts 70, the screws under these conditions resting in the notches 73 in front of the recesses 71. Simply by turning the screws 69 the nuts 70 are automatically tightened therein and become effective to draw the bottom part of the front end ring 22 toward the end section 11a of the casing 11.

The member 55 at the bottom of casing 11, upon which the caster bracket 61 is rotatably mounted at 63, forms the roof or ceiling of a stabilizing prop 74 for the suction cleaner. The stabilizing prop is provided with an inner vertical wall 75 which depends downward from the member 55 and is of semi-circular or U-forrn, as best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The wall 75 curves outwardly at the bottom part thereof and then upwardly at 76 to form wings or arms 77 which extend both longitudinally of and transversely of the casing 11, as best illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 2 it will be seen that the wing spread x of the arms 77 is greater than the distance y between the inner sides of the wheels 17, the outer parts of which approach vertical planes extending downward from the opposing sides of the casing 11. This will readily be evident from FIG. 3 where it will be observed that the arms 77 project laterally from the longitudinal center of the cleaner 19 beyond vertical planes passing through the inner sides of the rear wheels 17.

By providing a stabilizing prop 74 having a wing spread at least exceeding the distance the rear wheels 17 are spaced apart and in which the lowest regions of the wings or arms 77 are below the axis of rotation 62 of the front caster wheel 16, as indicated at 78 in FIG. 5, an effective prop for stabilizing the cleaner 10 is provided which effectively minimizes the tendency of the cleaner 10 to tip, irrespective of the position of the caster wheel 16 when it is being moved onto a rug at an edge thereof or from one room to another over a door threshold or sill. When there is any tendency for the cleaner to tip, the outer regions of the arms or wings 77 come in contact with the floor, rug or door threshold before the cleaner assumes a position of unstable equilibrium, thereby enabling the cleaner to move to its upright position when the condition causing the tilting passes.

In addition to providing a relatively wide wing spread, the stabilizing prop 74 is of such shape that it extends lengthwise of the cleaner 10 for a considerable distance to provide gliding surfaces at each side of the caster wheel 16 having the curved shape indicated at 79 in FIG. 5. This curved shape has a gradual slope from the rear of the stabilizing prop 74 to the lowest region 78 in FIG. 5 and then rises sharply to the vicinity of the front end ring 22. This will be evident from the fact that the inner vertical wall 75 becomes increasingly higher from the rear to the forward part thereof. Further, the trough formed between the vertical wall 75 and upwardly extending portion 76 joined thereto not only becomes wider from the rear to the front of the arms 77, as best seen in FIG. 4, but the radius of curvature of the trough becomes progressively larger from the rear to the front.

In FIGS. 3 and 5 it will be seen that the bottom surface of each arm 77 is convex both lengthwise and crosswise of the casing 11. The bottom surface of each arm slopes upward from the lowermost zone 78 to provide a region of spherical form, the bottom surface sloping upward at one rate in a direction to the rear of the zone and at a substantially sharper rate to the front and outside of the zone.

With this arrangement, the curve-shaped bottoms of the arms 77 provide rounded surfaces which become effective whenever the cleaner 10 is being moved forward onto a raised surface, such as a door threshold or the raised edge portion of a rug. Also, when the cleaner is being moved over a deep pile rug, the stabilizing prop 74 not only prevents tipping of the cleaner but the gliding surfaces of the arms 77 become effective skids to facilitate movement of the cleaner over the surface to be cleaned.

It has been stated above that the front end cover 12 is hinged at 37 to the casing 11. In the preferred embodiment of the invention being described, this is accomplished by providing lugs 80 at the bottom of the front end cover 12 which extend rearward and downwardly therefrom, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 7. The lugs 80 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of the bottom part 64 of the front end ring 22, so that they will fit nicely over the apertured end walls 66 of the part 64 and provide slight clearance between these parts. The front cover lugs 80 have openings 81 and are pivotally mounted on the bottom part 64 of the front end ring 22 by pins 82 having their heads 83 disposed at the ends of the trough 65. The forward parts 75a of the inner vertical wall 75 of the stabilizing prop 74 are at the immediate vicinity of the front cover lugs 80 and overlie the outer surfaces thereof and in this way effectively conceal from view the outer ends of the pins 82.

In assembling the structure illustrated and just described, the member 55 is first secured at 56 to the bottom of the casing 11. The front end cover 12 is next piovtally mounted on the bottom part 64 of the end ring 22 by the pins 82, after which the front end ring 22 is secured to the end of the casing 11 by the screws 69. Before the front end ring 22 is rigidly secured in position at the open end of the casing 11, it will be seen in FIG. 7 that pin 69 has uninhibited axial movement in only a left-hand direction, the head 83 limiting axial movement of the pin in the right-hand direction. After the front end ring 22 is secured in position by the screws 69, it will be noted in FIG. 7 that the screw 69 limits inward movement of the head 83 of the pin 82, so that mounting of the end cover 12 on the front end ring is effected simply by inserting the pins 82 through the aligned openings 67 and 81 in the end walls 66 of part 64 and front end cover lugs 80, respectively.

Conversely, when it becomes necessary to repair or replace the front end cover 12, it is only necessary to remove the screws 69 without disturbing the front end ring 22.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, such variations and modifications are contemplated as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention, as pointed out in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a horizontal tank-type suction cleaner, an elongated casing having an open end, an end ring at the open end of the casing, the end ring being disposed in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the casing, a cover to close the open end of the casing, means for pivotally mounting the cover on the end ring for angular movement thereon, the mounting means comprising structure forming a unitary part of the end ring which provides a first pair of spaced apart apertured elements which are disposed in the plane of the end ring and project downwardly therefrom, the cover having asecond pair of spaced apart apertured elements projecting therefrom, all of the elements projecting in planes transverse to the axis about which the cover is angularly movable, the elements in one pair being positioned closely adjacent to and alongside the elements in the other pair to provide two pairs of spaced apart hinge brackets having horizontally aligned apertures, the means for pivotally mounting the cover on the end ring including connecting means in the bracket apertures, said connecting means having structure forming a unitary part thereof for limiting axial movement of the connecting means in one direction only in each pair of hinge brackets, said connecting means being axially movable in the opposite direction in each pair of hinge brackets, and stationary means which is fixed to the casing and spaced from the hinge brackets and in axial alignment with the connecting means in the bracket apertures'to limit axial movement of theconnecting means in the opposite direction.

2. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 which includes means for detachably securing the end ring to the casing, the end ring securing means including said stationary means to limit axial movement of the connecting means in the opposite direction.

3. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the connecting means comprises a pin in the apertures of each pair of hinge brackets, each pin having a part to limit axial movement in one direction and being axially movable in the opposite direction, the stationary means fixed to the casing to limit axial movement of the connecting means in the opposite direction including means which is spaced from each pair of binge brackets and in axial alignment with the pins to limit axial movement of each pin in the opposite direction.

4. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 3 which in cludes means for detachably securing the end ring to the casing, the end ring securing means including the stationary means to limit axial movement of each pin in the opposite direction.

5. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 which includes means which is fixed to the casing and is spaced from each pair of hinge brackets and overlies the opposing outer ends of the connecting means to conceal the latter from view.

6. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the connecting means includes a pin provided with an enlarged head, the pin being axially movable in the opposite direction and the head of which limits axial movement thereof in the one direction, the stationary means which is fixed to the casing including a part spaced from the hinge brackets and in axial alignment with the pin and in the path of movement of the head to limit axial movement of the pin in the opposite direction.

7. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the connecting means includes a pin provided with an enlarged head, the pin being axially movable in the opposite direction and the head of which limits axial movement thereof in the one direction, and the stationary means which is fixed to the casing and is spaced from one of the hinge brackets and overlies the end of the pin remote from the head to conceal the latter from view.

8. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the connecting means comprises a headed pin for each pair of apertured hinge brackets, each pin being axially movable in the opposite direction and the head of which limits axial movement thereof in the one direction, the stationary means to limit axial movement of each pin in its opposite direction including a part attached to the casing which is at the vicinity of one of the hinge brackets and spaced therefrom and in axial alignment with one of the pins and contacted by the head of the pin when movement is imparted thereto in the opposite direction.

9. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 8 which includes means for detachably securing the end ring to the casing, the end ring securing means including the parts to limit axial movement of each pin in its opposite direction.

10. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the connecting means comprises a headed pin for each pair of apertured hinge brackets, each pin being axially movable in the opposite direction and the head of which limits axial movement thereof in the one direction, and means which is fixed to the casing and is spaced from the hinge brackets and overlies the outermost ends of the pins to conceal the latter.

11. In a horizontal tank-type suction cleaner, an elongated casing having an open end, an end ring at the open end of the casing, the end ring being disposed in a plane perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis of the casing, a cover to close the open end of the casing, means for pivotally mounting the cover on the end ring for angular movement thereon, the mounting means comprising structure forming a unitary part of the end ring which provides a pair of spaced apart apertured elements which are disposed in the plane of the end ring and project downwardly therefrom, the cover having a pair of spaced apart apertured parts projecting therefrom, the elements and parts projecting in planes transverse to the axis about which the cover is angularly movable, the cover parts being positioned closely adjacent to and alongside the end ring elements to provide two pairs of spaced apart hinge brackets having horizontally aligned apertures, connecting means comprising a pin in the apertures of each pair of hinge brackets having a head to limit axial movement thereof in one direction only and being axially movable in the opposite direction, and means for detachably securing the end ring to the casing, the end ring securing means including stationary parts which are spaced from the hinge brackets and in axial alignment with the pins and at the vicinities of their heads to limit axial movement of each pin in its opposite direction.

12. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 11 in which the head of each pin engages one of the end ring elements to limit axial movement thereof in the one direction, and the end ring securing means including a tightening screw positioned at the vicinity of the head of each pin which serves as one of the parts to limit axial movement thereof in its opposite direction.

13. A suction cleaner as set forth in claim 12 in which the bottom section of the end ring includes an elongated part which extends lengthwise thereof and projects downwardly therefrom, the side of the elongated part facing the casing being recessed to provide the pair of spaced apart apertured elements at the opposing ends of the elongated part, the elongated part having openings therein at regions adjacent to the ends thereof for the tightening screws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,068,274 Reynolds July 22, 1913 1,695,183 Downey Dec. 11, 1928 2,088,236 Faber July 27, 1937 2,287,474 Hansson June 23, 1942 2,314,666 Stoddard Mar. 23, 1943 2,562,649 Steensen July 31, 1951 2,622,264 Rosenberg Dec. 23, 1952 2,702,325 Ferraris Feb. 14, 1955 2,826,327 Gerhardt Mar. 11, 1958 

